Hazel and her sisters

There were three daughters who are pictured here. Nellie is on the left and was the oldest. She died when she was 37 or 38 from complications from an ulcerated tooth. There was always a huge picture of her hanging in the hallway in Grandma’s house, and we would comment on how beautiful she was. She had two daughters, Charlotte, who died young, and Maxine who I remember because she was almost as old as my dad, and would come to Washburn for visits. I know Maxine has a daughter, Jacque, who lives in Minnesota and also a son.

Aunt Angie (Evangeline) was a teacher in Superior. I think she taught Home Economics. She was responsible for the houseful of antiques that were in the family home, and she also directed the construction of the fireplace. She became ill in the late 1930’s with what the family quietly referred to as a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized In Minneapolis for many years before her death in 1947.

The remarkable thing about Aunt Hazel is that she earned her B.S. degree from Northland College when she was in her late 60’s, a year or two before her retirement. She had earned credits at a teachers’ college in Ashland, and picked up additional credits in summer school. Her good friend was attending summer school at Northland to earn her degree. Aunt Hazel was kind of jealous and negotiated with a Northland professor who agreed to grant her the final three credits she needed for a degree. Her responsibility was to provide a lengthy term paper on children’s literature. I remember this well because I proofread the paper for her and typed the final copy. She lived alone for several years after Uncle Otto died. My dad took care of her shopping needs and visited her twice a day as she approached the age of 90. She did suffer from senility the last years of her life, but was alert enough to know what a nursing home was and refused to even consider moving to one. She died in 1977 at the age of 92.